


Rebel With a Cause

by orphan_account



Series: Not Another Modern AU [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emo Kylo Ren, Flirting, M/M, Minor Jessika Pava/Rey, Minor Poe Dameron/Finn, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Hux, Older Kylo, Pining, Sexual Tension, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6228625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux is the aimless teenager who tells himself he hates his friends. Kylo is just Rey's weird older cousin, who is barely on Hux's radar.</p><p>Until suddenly he is.</p><p>(In which Kylo pines half his life away, and Hux is getting there. Slowly.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rebel With a Cause

**Author's Note:**

> You know that one school squad that has no straight people? That's these guys

Sometimes Hux really cannot believe he is friends with Rey Skywalker.

Phasma, he understands. He can fathom in some capacity why he's friends with Finn, too. At a _stretch_ , Poe. But Rey? No.

It's all Phasma's fault, really. They had become fast friends on the first day of kindergarten, perhaps because of a similarity with the easy chemistry their parents shared, perhaps because of a solidarity they'd developed from their accents. But then a few years later, _Finn_ had moved to town, and in a rare moment of altruism, Phasma had invited him to eat lunch with them since he didn't know anyone. It turned out he'd hit it off with Poe Dameron as well, the most popular boy in second grade, which was a real achievement at the time. Finn had introduced them all. Then they moved up to _middle_ school and met _Rey_ , who immediately became thick as thieves with Finn and then Poe, and they'd all settled into an uneasy friendship which has somehow persevered all the way to senior year.

The thing about him and Rey is that they don't have anything in common, like at _all_ , but they actually get on really, _really_ well. Plus, she's actually great to talk about boys to. But one major drawback about being friends with her is the Skywalkers themselves. Because Rey's family is _weird_. Her father, aunt and uncle are those strange kinds of adults that never properly grew up and stopped living in each others pockets, and they all live in a house together with Rey, her cousin, their two dogs, and her uncle's ridiculous foreign friend.

Which means that with a requirement for five different bedrooms, Rey has the biggest house out of all of them, causing hers to be the designated place to go to outside of school. Which Hux hates. But he goes anyway, because they're his friends and he… tolerates them. He does not, however, tolerate the Skywalker family.

Leia Organa is the easiest to bear. Stern and smart, she spends most of her time at work anyway- some job in the government, Hux assumes. But Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca are absolutely _mad._ Three grown men over the age of fifty should _not_ being going on benders at least twice a week.

And then of course, there's Kylo Ren.

Hux doesn't _hate_ Kylo, exactly. He really doesn't. But he's odd and awkward and it _bothers_ Hux. After going through an extreme emo phase when he was fourteen that he's never actually grown out of, Kylo now lurks around the house like a sullen ghost obsessed with the colour black. Hux doesn't know why he's still around- he's two years older than all of them and he should be off at college or at the very _least_ getting a job. But then again, he was raised by the Skywalkers, so who can really blame him for the way he turned out? Rey is the only sane one of the bunch.

“Mitaka is a _dick_ ,” she agrees, throwing her pen down for emphasis. Ah, that's why he's friends with her. She's great to talk about boys with while pretending to study on her bedroom floor.

“I guess I should've known,” Hux protests, biting back more tears. He only wishes he hadn't _trusted_ the guy- he'd been so _nice_.

Rey pulls a sympathetic face at him. “I'll go get the ice cream. Just stay there,” she instructs, before standing up and darting out of the room.

He sighs, grateful that Phasma is off trying to learn whatever Chewie's language is and Finn and Poe are playing video games downstairs. Showing weakness is almost _embarrassing_ for him. He can't believe that _Mitaka_ of all people has reduced him to this.

“Hello,” he hears from the doorway all of a sudden, and looks up to see Kylo standing there stiffly, with an expression on his face that Hux would actually classify as _concerned_. It's hard to tell with Kylo, considering he doesn't usually look anything but exceptionally impassive or unbelievably angry.

“Hi,” Hux replies, frowning a little. He will never, for all his supposed cleverness, understand Kylo Ren.

“Are you... all right?” He asks, taking a step closer.

“Just boy trouble,” Hux admits, huffing and playing it off as a joke. But Kylo's face softens and he sits down opposite Hux, staring at him with those big dark eyes. Hux doesn't know what kind of guidance _he's_ willing to offer, with his evident inexperience with boys. Or girls, if that's what he's into.

“What happened?”

Hux is about to ask him what the _hell_ he thinks he's doing when Rey bursts in with a tub of chocolate ice cream and gasps at Kylo.

“Out, Ben!” She shoos. “I won't have you preying on Hux now he's all emotional.”

“I- I wouldn't _do_ that! You _know_ I wouldn't!” Kylo shouts, offended, his face turning a splotchy pink. “And it's _Kylo!”_

“ _Emotional?”_ Hux snaps.

“You were _crying_ ,” Rey defends. “I'd count that as emotional.”

“You were _crying?”_ Kylo repeats mournfully, mouth shifting into a pout as he points his gaze back at Hux.

“Fuck off, _Ben_ ,” he retorts. He doesn't even like _Rey_ seeing him like this, let alone her childish, melodramatic cousin. Kylo's expression twists in anger at the use of his birth name coming from Hux, and he lurches to his feet and storms out of the room, muttering to himself and slamming the door shut as he goes. It's honestly not a strange occurrence in the Skywalker-Solo household.

“Sorry about him,” Rey says, handing Hux a spoon and tearing off the ice cream lid as she drops to the floor in front of him. “Now, carry on telling me about Mitaka.”

“Wait, what did you mean about Kylo _preying_ on me? Did you mean trying to recruit me into his awful band? Because I can promise you I'd never listen to what he has to say.”

Rey gives him a look. That look that girls get when they think a boy is being extraordinarily dense, and are completely shocked at the sheer _stupidity_ of it all. Rey and Phasma seem to share it all the time.

“Yes,” she says slowly. “That's _exactly_ what I meant.”

 

* * *

 

“How are you?” Kylo asks him next time they see each other. Which is literally just the next day, because they all _constantly_ go round to Rey's house. Honestly, for someone Rey claims spends most of the time buried in his room, or 'cave' as she prefers to say, he always seems to be out and about when _Hux_ is around. But it's always been like this, and Kylo is weird and creepy, so Hux tends not to question these kinds of things after seven years of strangeness.

“I'm fine,” he answers, confused. “Why?”

“Oh, I just thought- well yesterday you were sad, and I...”

“Ben, do please be a dear and _move out of the way_ ,” Rey interrupts. “You're blocking the door.”

Kylo's cheeks redden and he reluctantly moves to the side, allowing them entry to the kitchen. “ _Kylo_ ,” he hisses after Rey, who rolls her eyes and shuts the door in his face.

“You were sad?” Finn says. Everyone is looking at him now.

“It's nothing, really,” he dismisses. “Mitaka and I are no longer in a relationship, is all. He had… other interests.”

“I'm sorry, buddy,” Poe sympathises, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Wanna order pizza? Papa John's always cheers you up.”

“We'll even let you put Brokeback Mountain on and act like we don't notice you crying,” Phasma offers.

Hux tries to pretend he doesn't feel a rush of affection for them, and answers affirmative, sadly unable to hide his fond grin. He never passes up an opportunity to ogle Heath Ledger and get pizza during the experience. His friends can be kind of awesome. Occasionally.

It only really occurs to him a few hours later to wonder why Kylo had actually cared enough to ask how he was. It isn't like they've ever gotten on, not _really_ , and what had happened yesterday wasn't exactly an isolated incident- he always skulks around and listens to their conversations. But today was new. He's never seemed to care all that much about what his cousin and her friends get up to, so why start now? Although he's never actually seen Hux so unhappy, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Maybe he'll ask Rey about it. Then again, he might just get that look from her he did the other day.

Maybe he won't ask her. It isn't important anyway.

 

* * *

 

“Hux, Hux please, I don't know what to _do_ ,” Rey wails down the phone instead of offering an introduction.

“Wait, what? What's happened? Where are you?” He asks, panic building in his lungs as he walks into the hallway, hoping for somewhere more private.

“I don't- I'm not entirely sure,” she answers, openly sobbing now. “I was just upset and I kept driving and I got to some diner off the highway. But then Unkar Plutt and his thugs came and _stole_ my fucking _car_ , and I would've _stopped_ them but I didn’t see until it was too late, and I don't even know what they were doing out here but I'm scared and-”

“Rey, slow down. Calm down,” he says. “What made you decide to drive out to some random diner this late?”

“Jessika,” comes the miserable reply. “She's got a date. With a fucking _girl_. This whole time I thought she was straight and it turns out that even though she isn't, she still doesn't want _me_. I just got _sad_ and I kept driving and now I'm stranded in the middle of _nowhere_. I'm really sorry to ask, Hux, but please can you pick me up?”

“Shit, Rey, you know I would, but Poe totalled my car the other week and it's still in the shop,” he says, wincing. “I could ask to borrow Phasma's?” She's currently two hours deep into studying with Finn and Poe, and Hux is slightly terrified of being the one to break her concentration. But this seems to be an emergency.

“No!” Rey exclaims. “No, not Phasma. She can't see me like this. I haven't cried in front of her since seventh grade and I don't plan to again until at _least_ graduation. You can't even mention this to her.”

“But all the adults are out,” he explains. “I don't know who-”

“Ben,” she suggests, and the reluctance of her words is almost tangible through the phone. “Ask Ben. Kylo, sorry. He's super weird about letting people borrow his car so he'll have to go with you, but I'd prefer it if you asked him.”

“Rey, can't I just send him to get you?” He isn't exactly enthusiastic about spending God knows how long alone with Rey's weirdo cousin.

“Please don't, Hux. I need you.”

“Shit, okay. Don't worry, we'll come get you. What's the diner called?”

“Um… Starkiller Base. It's some weird spacy, new-age kind of shit,” she explains with a tearful laugh.

“Okay, I'll get Google Maps up or something. See you soon,” he promises.

He ends the call with a sigh, shoving his phone into his pocket. He won't tell the others that he's leaving- they'll just assume he's gone home, and if Rey wants, she can explain to the rest of them tomorrow. He worries that Kylo won't hear him knocking though, since his music is so loud. But the top stair creaks as he makes his way to Kylo's room, and the volume of the music seems to lessen a little. Hux raps his hand on the door.

“Uh, Kylo?”

The door swings open to reveal him in his usual seven layers of black, looking surprisingly tense as he scrutinises Hux curiously. “Hello,” he says, slightly breathless.

“Sorry about this, but can I bother you for a ride?”

“Oh.” His eyes widen and he takes a small step closer to Hux, the tiniest smile twisting his mouth. “Um, yeah, if you want. Where do you wanna go?”

“To pick Rey up, if that's okay? She's gotten herself into a bit of trouble.”

Kylo's lips part in realisation and he shuffles back again, resigned. If Hux didn't know Kylo he'd go as far as to say that he looks _disappointed_. But he _does_ know Kylo, so that's clearly an absurd conclusion to come to. Hux pushes it from his mind as Kylo nods and gestures for him to go ahead. “I'll just get my keys,” he says, turning back into his room.

So that's how Hux ends up alone in a car with Kylo fucking Ren of all people, speeding towards some shady diner with a ridiculous name. The tension in the car is _unreal,_ and almost too much to bear. Hux thinks the last time he spent time with Kylo must've been at least three years ago, and it was probably due to some other family emergency. He thinks that maybe back when Kylo was Ben they might've even been friends, but they're just so different now. This becomes even plainer to see when Kylo finally breaks the near-painful silence.

“So, uh, do you wanna play some music or something? I have some great music. What kind of music do you like?”

“Well, I-”

“Fuck, it's probably not the same kind of music as mine, is it?” Kylo cuts in, before Hux can even finish speaking. “Like, classical music or some shit. Or Opera. Your family is all sophisticated and crap. Should I just put the radio on instead? I'm just gonna put the radio on.”

Hux watches, bemused, as he fumbles with the beat-up car stereo, which has become scuffed and shabby in overuse. Some terrible pop song starts playing and he sees Kylo grimace, but he doesn't change it. Hux almost laughs at the peculiarity of it all.

“What was all that, um. Stuff. With the boy trouble,” Kylo says, preventing Hux from letting out any laughter. “Are you okay?”

“I'm… better,” he answers, huffing. “I just broke up with my boyfriend, but it doesn't really matter. He doesn't matter.”

“Is this the one you've been dating for like, two years? How did it even happen?”

“Yeah, Mitaka. He cheated on me.” He doesn't know why he's telling this to Kylo, of all people. But he's there, and there isn't any danger of him spreading rumours, so Hux decides that while it's not ideal, it's not the end of the world. “I guess it was more of a sex thing, anyway. It's not like I loved him.” No, he hadn't, but it had still _hurt_.

“Oh,” Kylo acknowledges, nodding in understanding. “Still, I'm sorry anyway.”

“Thanks.”

“So what's happened to Rey, exactly?” Kylo asks, thankfully moving the subject away from Hux's love life.

“She's stranded. Some idiots stole her car, so she needed someone to pick her up,” he explains “And some shit went down with Jessika, so she's pretty distressed at the moment.”

“Jessika? Isn't that the straight girl she likes?”

“How did you know that?” He frowns. Rey and Kylo don't exactly _talk_. “Did she _tell_ you?”

“No. She reads my secret blog so I read her diary. It's an unspoken deal.”

“You have a _blog?”_

Kylo goes unnaturally still for someone who's driving.

“...No.”

“You _do!_ You have a _blog!”_ Hux cries. “You have a secret emo blog like the one you had when you were fifteen!”

“Shut _up_ ,” Kylo growls. “And how did you know about that?”

“Rey found it. We used to read out entries from it every day.” Kylo is steadily growing more red. Hux can't blame him- he'd been a strange kid, and it was hilarious for five thirteen year olds to dramatise ludicrously gothic poems. “Who was that guy you always used to talk about? The one you liked? He had a codename. It was 'The General', wasn't it?"

“You wouldn't know him,” Kylo bites out, and Hux can see him white-knuckling the steering wheel. “Forget about it.”

Hux is a little tempted to tease him some more, since he's just so fun to wind up, but he decides against it. “I've always admired that military position,” he says dreamily, instead of pushing the joke any further.

“I know,” comes the bitter reply.

He's about to say something else to Kylo but is distracted by the car pulling into the parking lot of some flashy, over-large diner. Rey is standing outside it, shivering and hugging herself. Hux curses to himself as he tumbles out of the car in panic, rushing over to her. Her face is snotty and blotchy with tears, and she lets out a sob of relief when he gently leads her over to the car, pulling her in the backseat with him and putting an arm around her. She's pretty shaken up. It doesn't mean he likes being friends with her. Or that he's nice.

“Crying over your unluckiness with girls?” Kylo taunts from the front, and Rey's head shoots up from Hux's chest to glare at him.

“At least I'm not the twenty year old _virgin_ ,” she snaps, and Kylo scoffs at her, the back of his neck flushing.

“That's besides the poi-”

“Would you like me to share to Hux why it is, exactly, that you're a virgin?”

“Do whatever you want,” he says, feigning indifference, but Hux can see his hands clenching on the wheel.

Rey just snorts, and turns her attention away from him. Even if she did share, it wouldn't be _news_ to Hux as to why Kylo has never had any success with relationships. It's the same reason he doesn't have any friends- the guy is just so _awkward_.

“Why doesn't she like me?” Rey whispers to him all of a sudden, and Hux looks down at her, smoothing back her hair.

“If she doesn't like you then that's her loss. _She's_ the problem. Not you.”

“'Her loss'? _Please_. What do _I_ have going for myself?”

“Shut up,” Kylo says before Hux can reply, and they both look at him in surprise. “You're… smart? And you're funny. Sometimes. You can cook almost anything out of practically nothing. You're the only one who can properly stop Threepio and Artoo from barking in the middle of the night. You do have _some_ redeeming qualities.”

Rey huffs, but Hux can tell she's hiding a smile. “And yet I still don't know how to keep Beebee-Ate quiet.”

“Beebee-Ate is a cat, who isn't even ours. That doesn't count.”

There's a pause.

“Thank you, Ben.”

He doesn't even call her out for using his given name.

“Nobody gets to treat you like shit but me.”

 _Oh my god_ , Hux thinks. He feels as if he's intruding on a private moment between them, but it predictably derails into arguing again. However as he looks at Kylo, he now experiences something like _respect_ for him. He may hate Rey most of the time, but he _knows_ her, and he knows when to stop. Perhaps he isn't _the_ strangest person in the Skywalker family.

Hux will give that title to Chewie instead.

 

* * *

 

After Hux reaches the conclusion that Kylo isn't actually so bad, something changes between them- Hux begins to acknowledge him when he's in the room, whether it's actually saying something or just a smile. Kylo doesn't return the gesture, just flushes pink and walks off in a swirl of black, but hey, baby steps. They finally talk again a week or so later, when Hux is standing outside the corner store at two in the morning, one headphone in and a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“Smoking is bad for you.”

He startles, shaking the headphone from his ear, and glances up to see Kylo standing in front of him, looking awkward as ever.

“Hi,” he says, removing the cigarette from his mouth. “What are you doing here this late?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Phasma was craving Doritos,” he explains. “I'm just waiting for her. You?”

“I just needed to take a walk, clear my head,” Kylo says. “Snoke is kinda on my back about writing new songs.”

“So you came _here_ , of all places, for inspiration? The corner store?” Hux asks, with an incredulous snort.

“You really hate this town, don't you?”

“It's a _junkyard_.”

“Jakku isn't so bad.”

“You're _twenty_. I can't understand why you still stay here,” Hux says, scoffing. “As soon as I graduate I'm getting as far away as possible.”

“Everything is here. My family, my band, my friends. I can't ever imagine leaving,” Kylo admits, the tips of his ears going pink as he stares at his feet, scuffing them on the ground.

“I wasn't aware you _had_ friends,” Hux teases. “And I was also under the impression that you hated your family.”

“I have _friends_. Or… acquaintances.” Hux laughs at him, taking another drag of his cigarette. “My family can be tolerable. On occasion.”

It causes him to snicker again, and he feels a sudden rush of shock at the fact that Kylo Ren, the guy who could once only be funny indirectly by writing morbid poetry or being tripped up by R2-D2, is making him _laugh_. He'd just assumed he would always just see Kylo as Rey's cousin, the irritating, constantly angry teenager prowling around the Skywalker house with a persistent sneer pasted on his face. Hux supposes Kylo might've finally begun growing up.

In fact, he notices this even more with the way Kylo is eyeing his cigarette. “Have you ever smoked?” Hux asks him. He shakes his head. “Would you like to?”

“Who would've thought you'd end up being a bad influence on _me?”_ Kylo jokes, smirking.

“Everyone who knows us well enough. I picked the lock to your alcohol cupboard the _first time_ I ever visited,” he reminisces. “I made a great first impression.”

“Maybe not on my mom. But my dad and Uncle Luke were just _impressed_.” Kylo grins at the memory, and _wow_ is he pretty when he smiles. “Guess I should've known you'd grow up to be a troublemaker.”

“Says the guy who got expelled from school to the boy with a completely clean record,” he mutters, and Kylo is smiling wider, and it's kind of making Hux uncomfortable. “Just take the damn cigarette,” he says, offering it over.

Kylo hesitantly plucks it from his fingers. Hux watches as he places it between his lovely lips, eyes fluttering shut as he inhales deeply, cheeks hollowing out. Hux is only _just_ prevented from getting hard by the explosive coughing fit Kylo suffers almost immediately afterwards, his lungs violently rejecting the sickly mix of nicotine and tar.

“ _That_ ,” he announces, “was _disgusting_.”

“Each to their own, I guess.”

“Yeah, if their own is _disgusting_ things.”

Hux laughs again, and their conversation is regretfully cut short by Phasma making her way out of the store, carrying a six pack of beers and a bag of Doritos.

“Fake ID's really do work wonders when you're tall,” she comments, and does a double take when she sees who Hux is standing with. “Alright, Kylo? We were just going down to Endor. Care to join us?”

“No, no I'm fine,” he declines. “But thanks for asking,”

“More beer for us,” Phasma says, shrugging. “See you.”

“Bye,” Kylo replies, but he's mostly focused on Hux.

Hux inclines his head in farewell, before he's dragged away by Phasma to the old abandoned park a few blocks away. It feels good to flop onto the grass and not care about anything for a while. That can only be done in peace in the middle of the night.

“You know,” she says, an hour later when they're both sufficiently high and drunk enough, “if that boy weren't already emotionally unavailable, I would be _all_ over that.”

“Boy?”

“Kylo.”

“Oh. Emotionally unavailable?” He repeats, blowing smoke up into the air and watching as it blocks his view of a few stars.

“It's when someone already loves someone else,” she explains.

“I know. I just wondered how you came to the conclusion that _Kylo_ was in love with someone.”

“Oh, he is. Definitely.”

“Who?” He's not sure why he's so curious about it. But he's halfway through a joint and on his third beer, so who really cares?

“The same damn someone he's been in love with since he was thirteen,” Phasma says, and her tone is almost _bitter_.

“You feel bad for him,” Hux notes.

“I have it on good authority that unrequited love _sucks_.” Rey's been moaning to everyone about Jessika for nearly a _year_ now. They're all aware of the woes of having your affections go unreciprocated. “Don't _you_ feel bad for him?”

He's about to answer, but the sound of whoops and cheers distract him. When Unkar Plutt and his gang round the corner, him and Phasma are forced to bolt, and the chat about Kylo's love life is forgotten. Hux vaguely recalls it when he falls into bed a half hour later, but the memory of drinking in the sight of Kylo smoking is more at the forefront of his mind. He remembers the way the streetlamp had shone on him, making his skin look paler and smoother, the way it had caused his eyelashes to throw dense shadows across his cheekbones, the way his lips and eyes had looked darker, the intensity of his stare.

 _Shit_.

Hux may or may not have a thing for Rey's annoying cousin.

 

* * *

 

“It's just not _responsible_ , Ben, You're t-”

“How many times do I have to _tell_ you? It's _Kylo!”_

“I'm sorry, _Kylo_. You're _twenty_ now, and you need to grow up! Snoke's band is not a proper job, you need to go out and get a _career_ , or go to college-”

“Mom, music _is_ my career!”

“Fine! Have a music career! But not music involved with _Snoke!”_

“You're just jealous of his musical talent!”

Poe outright snorts at this as they all stand in the kitchen, studiously pretending that they aren't listening to the shouting match upstairs. This usually happens about once a week in Rey's house.

“ _What_ musical talent?”

“Fuck _you!_ Leave me alone! You could've just said you wouldn't come!”

“Ben-”

“ _Kylo_.”

“Snoke is your manager, not your _mother! I_ am, and _I_ named you!”

“Go _away!”_

Doors slam and Kylo comes rushing down the stairs and through the kitchen. If he notices them all staring at him, he doesn't let on, just keeps his head down and pushes past them. They hear the back door slam a moment later, and Hux knows that he's gone to sulk on the swing like he usually does when he has an argument. The silence has gotten a bit strained in the kitchen, but Finn breaks the spell by accidentally opening a can of soda that's too fizzy, and spraying it all over himself. They laugh, relaxed once more, and the evening goes back to normal.

Not for long, however.

It's at least another hour until Leia hesitantly approaches him on his way back from the bathroom, and she stops him with a soft hand to the shoulder.

“Hi, Hux,” she says.

“Hi, Mrs Organa,” he replies, frowning.

“I hate to ask this, but could you possibly go and have a word with Ben, please?” She asks hopefully.

“What… what am I supposed to say?” This is certainly unexpected.

“Don't even bother trying to get him to understand things from my perspective- that's pointless. But I'd appreciate it if you convinced him to come _inside_ , at least. Just cheer him up a bit, if you could?”

“Uh- but… me?”

“He doesn't want to speak to me right now. And you know how he despises his cousin.”

“But he doesn't _know_ me.”

“Look, please,” Leia begs, “you're a better option than the rest of Rey's friends. I just need someone to talk to him.”

“Oh, alright then,” he relents. Nobody can say no to Leia Organa-Solo.

“Thank you, Hux! You're a star,” she compliments, and he gives her a bemused smile, reluctantly going into the Skywalker's backyard and making his way over to Kylo, who's sitting on the swing near the fence and brooding.

“Leave me _alone_ , Rey,” he mumbles, having not looked up yet.

“It's not Rey.”

His head shoots up in surprise. “Hux,” he breathes, blinking at the sight of him. “Hello.”

“Hi. Everything okay?”

He shrugs. “No. But you heard.” Hux is about to defend himself, but Kylo interrupts. “Please don't pretend you and your stupid friends don't listen in to every argument my mother and I have. It's the only entertainment you petty little children _get_ ,” he snarls, clenching his fist harder around the piece of paper he happens to be holding.

“You're calling _us_ 'petty little children'? You've been sulking out here for over an _hour_ , Kylo.”

“ _Whatever_.”

Hux sighs, tentatively nearing the swing and moving closer to him. “Why don't you just come inside?”

“ _No_ ,” Kylo hisses vehemently.

“Why not? What did your mother do that was really so bad?”

“She insulted The Knights of Ren,” he grumbles, sounding just as histrionic as he had several years ago when he'd announced to everyone he was joining a band. “All I did was ask if she was coming to watch us play. It's gonna be our big break.”

 _Just cheer him up_ , Leia had said. Surely that could be done by inflating his ego?

“Your big break?”

“There are rumours that a talent scout will be there,” Kylo mutters. Hux sincerely doubts it- no talent scout would come to watch the gig of a shitty emo band in a dingy bar, in perhaps the worst town in the entire galaxy. He feels a bit bad about telling Kylo that, so he keeps his mouth shut. “It's just… everyone in the band has someone there. Like, a girlfriend or a sister. Or their mom. I don't...” _have anyone,_ Hux finishes, although not out loud.

“When is it?”

“What?”

“Your gig. When is it?”

“Saturday,” Kylo informs him, still looking thoroughly confused.

“ _I'll_ come,” Hux says. “If you want me to.”

“Oh.” Kylo frowns as he processes what Hux has just said, looking at him in confusion. “Uh, really?”

“Why not?” Why not, indeed. He knows why not. Because The Knights of Ren are a _terrible_ band- Rey had been forced to go to one of their performances a few years ago by Leia and had dragged them all along to witness this crime against music. It was all heavy guitar and screaming into microphones about forest green eyes and freckles like constellations. All that tragically romantic rocker shit that Hux just _hates_. He cannot believe he is doing this to himself again.

He watches as Kylo attempts to hide the big silly grin his face has just split into, letting his hair fall forward to block Hux's view. He extricates the crumpled piece of paper from his fist, smoothing it out rapidly before shoving it into Hux's hands. He stares down at the flyer, trying not to be too obvious about his lack of enthusiasm.

“Um, all the information's there. But don't feel obligated to turn up if you change your mind, or if you end up busy or something.” Kylo looks nervous, seems nervous, and it's actually kind of sweet. All he really wants is _friendship_ , for someone to show him a bit of kindness, despite whatever his surly demeanour may suggest. “Are you… gonna bring a date?”

“No,” Hux says, and Kylo's posture relaxes. But he doesn't really want to go alone to this thing, and he knows Phasma and Poe are planning to go and trash the new superhero movie on Saturday. Rey _definitely_ won't come, so that only leaves him with one option. “Finn,” he tells Kylo. “I'll bring Finn.”

“Right.” Kylo nods, beaming at the ground like he's absolutely _thrilled_ with everything at that current moment in time. “Okay.”

“I guess I'll see you on Saturday,” Hux says, and gestures towards the house. “Are you coming in?”

“Yeah, just- yeah. Give me a minute.” He's rocking back and forth on the swing distractedly, that huge dopey smile that Hux has grown immensely fond of in the past few minutes still plastered on his face.

Hux nods at him, turning and heading back inside, inclining his head in accomplishment towards Leia when she throws him a questioning look on his way back to the kitchen. He hears Kylo enter the house a few minutes later, the low rumble of his voice a fast rush as he speaks to his mother. Hux feels his heart ache with warmth at the thought of that smile, and he has to look down to ensure none of the others notice the soft expression on his face.

“Thank you,” Leia says to him as he's leaving, a few hours later. “He seems to have forgotten about our argument already.”

“It was nothing, honestly.”

“You're giving up your Saturday night for him. It's not nothing.”

Kylo must've told her. Which is a strangely wonderful thought. What Hux won't tell Leia however, is that it doesn't feel like he's giving anything up- a part of him actually _wants_ to be there. Which is a wildly unsettling thought.

“I really don't mind all that much.”

He actually means it.

 

* * *

 

“Remind me, why did I agree to come with you?” Finn asks.

“Because you're too nice to say no? Because you're a loser who has nothing better to do on a Saturday night? Because you listen to shitty music anyway? Take your pick.”

“Wow, and I also just remembered why I'm friends with you. It's because I enjoy being regularly insulted.”

“Then I'm truly perfect for the job.”

“Fuck you, Hux,” Finn teases. “Now I'm gonna go to the bathroom before Kylo comes over here because that was _shit_ , and I'm not ready to lie about it.”

Finn had warned him about it being awful before the show started, and predictably, he had been right. It was the same drivel as before- all exaggerated metaphors about pale thighs and hair the colour of autumn. It was hard to hear over all the guitar. Hux wasn't very impressed. But all disappointment at how he's spent his evening flies out of the window at the sight of Kylo walking over to him, sweaty and breathless and flushed.

“You came,” he says, stating the obvious and staring at Hux like he's straight out of one of his precious rock bands. “You actually came.”

“Well I told you I would, didn't I?” Hux replies, heart clenching a little at Kylo's mistrust.

“What did you think?” He asks, smiling big and wide, and he's so damn proud of himself that Hux just can't be honest.

“It was amazing,” he lies, grinning back. “You were amazing.”

“I didn't think this was really your kinda scene? I know you said you'd come but I thought you were just gonna change your mind,” Kylo discloses, seeming a little embarrassed about his lack of faith in Hux.

“Well, I'm here,” he confirms, and Kylo's face goes all soft at the edges. “But you were right- this isn't really my scene. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, though.” _Yeah, because you look really hot when you sing, apparently._ He wishes he could say it out loud. Kylo's looks are an _art_ form, in their own way, and they deserve to be _appreciated_. If he really _is_ a virgin then it suddenly makes a lot less sense to Hux.

“Can I buy you a drink or something?”

“Want an excuse to keep an eye out for that talent scout?”

“Yeah, I don't think anyone's here,” Kylo says with a shrug. “It wouldn't be the first time Snoke has made something up like that to get me to perform better.”

“That doesn't seem right,” Hux remarks as Kylo orders some vague alcoholic drink. He'll probably have anything Kylo puts in front of him, as long as it doesn't mean looking away from him.

Kylo shrugs again. “Snoke runs a tight ship. He even regulates the way we look- I'm not allowed any piercings, tattoos or facial hair.”

“Holy _shit_ you'd look great with a beard,” he blurts out, going pink when he realises what he's said. “Sorry, I just-”

“No, no it's fine.” There's that fucking grin again and it makes Hux's stomach do flips. “Do you think I look _bad_ without it?”

 _This is so_ _hi_ _gh_ _s_ _chool_ , Hux thinks, then remembers that he actually _is_ in high school. “No. No, you look great either way,” he admits. Kylo just stares at him, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth as he watches him talk. “I just don't think you should let Snoke control you like that. It's your choice.”

“You look great too,” Kylo whispers, and okay he's completely missed the point, but it makes Hux's insides squirm. He leans further forward, his breath hot and heavy on Hux's lips, ardent and awed. “Especially tonight. You've always been so beauti-”

“Hey, guys,” Finn says, breaking the intense spell that has woven it's way around them. They shift apart, unsatisfied and interrupted. “Great show, Kylo. Really awesome.” Hux knows he psyched himself up in the bathroom to say that.

“Thanks, Fred,” Kylo grits out, and Finn huffs.

“It's _Finn_.”

“He _knows_ that, don't you Kylo?” Hux says, fully aware that Kylo is doing it just to wind Finn up because of his inconvenient timing. But Finn's name is _important_ to him, being adopted and all, so Hux subtly kicks Kylo's foot, glaring. “He was just joking around.”

“Sorry, _Finn_ ,” Kylo amends, not looking very happy about it. “Anyway, I have to go now. Snoke'll be wanting to see me.” He allows himself one last look, his eyes lingering on Hux briefly. “Goodbye,” he says, before striding off into the dwindling crowd.

“Fuck,” Hux whines, practically falling against the bar. “I totally almost got dirty talked by Kylo Ren.”

“You _what?”_

“We said- there were words, between us. I don't know. It was very sexually charged.”

“Christ, _finally,”_ Finn declares, and then seems to realise what he had walked in on. “Oh. Crap, I'm sorry, I must've interrupted you two. That was why he was so grumpy.”

“He's always grumpy anyway,” Hux states, and attempts to make eye contact with Kylo across the room. “Don't worry. I'm sure he'll get over it.” He eventually succeeds, and motions to the door to let Kylo know they're leaving. All he gets in acknowledgement is a dispirited nod.

Hux drags Finn away from the bar and the two untouched drinks that had been ordered, pulling him out into the street and beginning the short walk home. He's glad it's so cold that he can barely move his arms when Finn talks next.

“Do you think you guys are dating now?”

“ _No_ ,” Hux says, rolling his eyes and hugging his arms closer, Finn's fate of being pushed or punched prevented by the chill. “We had a moment. _Once_. We're not dating.”

“Do you think you could?”

“I don't know,” he mumbles. “There's something between us, sure. But I don't know if it's that.” He hasn't entirely forgotten about what Phasma had told him- Kylo, despite their flirting, is still in love with someone else.

“I'm sure it'll work out, man,” Finn comforts, lopsided smile on his face.

Hux will admit that he feels slightly better

 

* * *

 

The clink of cutlery and glasses is a low background hum as Hux continues making eye contact with Kylo across the table, licking his lips clean of sauce. He doesn't know if anyone else has noticed the way they're looking at each other, but from the way Luke's gaze keeps flicking between them, amused, Hux assumes he's detected what's going on. Perhaps Olive Garden isn't the best place for eye-fucking, but he can't resist at the delicious way Kylo alternates between shifting in his seat uncomfortably and smirking into his drink.

“A toast to Rey, my wonderful niece!” Leia exclaims, raising a glass and subsequently jolting Kylo and Hux away from their heated staring contest. “Congratulations on getting into MIT!”

They all join her, mumbling praise before quickly turning back to their food, and Rey looks as if she's about to burst out laughing at the unenthusiastic reaction she's just received. Of _course_ they're proud of her, but Hux suspects the majority of them are just here because Luke offered to pay for all of them. This dinner is kind of making him worry though- he hasn't got any letters back from anywhere he applied to, and he isn't sure he even _wants_ to go to college. At least he knows he's not alone in his uncertainty, though, as Phasma and Finn are both equally unsure about what they want for their futures. Poe has his heart set on some Aviation Academy.

“So it's your party next week, right?” Rey asks Luke and Leia. Hux is actually surprised she hasn't managed to remember the date- the Skywalkers annual birthday party is a _big_ deal in Jakku. “Is it okay if I bring my girlfriend?”

“When did you get a _girlfriend?”_ Phasma questions, voicing everyone's sudden surprise.

“Jessika asked me out yesterday,” Rey explains, and Hux is abruptly struck by her resemblance to Kylo with that foolish grin they apparently both share when they're especially happy about something. “She went on that date last month just to make me jealous. We're dating now.”

The laughable thing is that the enthusiasm about this is actually greater than the excitement about her getting to college, and Hux beams at her proudly as she gets pats on the back from Poe and Han. He's pretty sure that even _Kylo_ is pleased for her. Their eyes meet again as they turn back to their meals, and Hux is captivated. Kylo's dark eyes are glinting in the light, trapping Hux's breath in his throat and quickening his pulse, forcing a feeling of molten sweetness through him, warm and tender as it pools in his stomach.

He is so fucked.

 

* * *

 

Kylo is holed up in his room, as usual. Except now it's kind of rude, considering it's his mother and uncle's birthday. But he does this every year, and only comes downstairs very briefly when Rey brings the cake out, to stand awkwardly in the corner and make everyone feel uneasy. But Hux doesn't think he _will_ feel uneasy this year, as a dynamic of teasing camaraderie and increasing arousal has developed between them recently. Something Hux would not have believed in his wildest dreams if he'd been told this just a few months ago.

“Hux, do me a favour and go and get Ben, would you?” Rey pleads, fussing around the kitchen, near to tears and bubbling with anxiety. “I need to see if he's coming down soon.”

“Stop _stressing_ , Rey. I'll bring him down.”

When he gets to Kylo's room he has the same understandable worry that he won't be heard knocking over the music, but Kylo seems to have the uncanny ability to always know when someone is at his door, maybe due to possible psychic capabilities or maybe due to the floorboard that creaks directly outside his room. So despite the loudness of Kylo's music rivalling the noise downstairs, it cuts out the minute Hux knocks. The door flies open and Kylo eyes him and leans against the doorframe, cocksure.

“Hello,” he says, smirk twisting his mouth.

“Hi.” Hux almost has to shake himself out of a daze. “Rey wants you downstairs in a minute.”

“Are you enjoying the party?” Kylo asks, ignoring the statement to stare at Hux instead.

“It's good, yeah,” he answers, only lying a little. It would be better if _Kylo_ was there- he might not be great fun but he's _amazing_ to look at.

“Good.”

There's a weighted pause, and the silence stretches out between them, tense and building.

“You should probably join us.” He has to clear his throat to speak.

“ _Fine_ ,” Kylo acquiesces, sighing long-sufferingly.

“It's only polite,” Hux reminds him.

“I suppose.”

The air is strained and the atmosphere intensifying, but Hux is saved by happening to notice the flash of green above Kylo's door. He frowns, and squints, not quite sure he's seeing correctly.

“Is that… _mistletoe?”_ He asks.

“ _What?”_ Kylo staggers out of his room to turn facing it, following Hux's sight to the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the top of his door. “I- I don't...”

“It's not even Christmas.”

“I didn't put that there.”

“It's March.”

“I had nothing to do with this.”

“Can you even _get_ mistletoe this time of year?”

“I wouldn't know, since _I didn't get it_.”

Hux gives him a knowing look, and is just tipsy enough to be brave. "If you wanted to kiss me, Kylo, you didn't need an excuse. You could've just said.”

“You-”

Poor Kylo doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Hux is lurching forwards, smashing their lips together and slamming Kylo against the wall. The music from below reverberates through him as he tangles his hands in Kylo's hair, causing him to groan and clutch at Hux. All Hux can hear for a few seconds is the sounds of gasping and the wet noise their lips make as they pull apart. He almost thinks he's messed this whole thing up as Kylo rests against the wall, unmoving, but it becomes evident it's quite the opposite when a smile spreads across his face.

He laughs, _properly_ laughs, careless and joyful as it rumbles up from deep in his chest. He swings Hux around so that his back hits the doorframe and kisses him again, his hands mapping the length of Hux's body and the arch of his spine, and he sighs into Hux's mouth as his hands come to settle on his waist. The doorframe is digging into Hux's back, but he doesn't care, just puts up with it as Kylo presses further against him, eager and disbelieving all at once.

“Oh,” Hux murmurs, once they finally pull away from each other.

“Yeah.” Kylo isn't letting go, and his gaze is flitting around Hux's face like he doesn't want to look away, like he's got to take it all in.

“I think it would be best if I went back down now,” he says regrettably, and Kylo's eyes flash as he tightens his grip around Hux's waist. “You too. Rey is expecting us.”

“Right, yeah. Okay.” Kylo eventually steps backwards from Hux, chest rising and falling rapidly. “I'll be down in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Hux is stuck in a hazy stupor as he makes his way back to the living room, helping himself to some more punch and trying to recall anything that's happened in his life that _wasn't_ the last five minutes. He's having some trouble. Poe is the one who wakes him up, tumbling into him from the side clumsily and making him spill his punch.

“Hux,” he slurs, drawing out the x. “Hux, buddy, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I'm like… _super_ gay.” Hux gawks at him as he continues to speak. “And I know you are too, so I thought you should know that. Especially for Finn. I like Finn. Do you think Finn is hot? I think he's kinda hot."

“I _know_ , Poe. We all do. You and Finn have been a romance waiting to happen for _years_.”

Poe giggles, throwing an arm around him. “ _You_ might've known but I had, like, no _idea_. But I love Finn. And not in the way I love you, either.” Hux lets him throw his other arm around him and can't help but return the hug. Poe is usually an affectionate drunk, so he's used to it by now. “Cos I do, you know. I love you, buddy.”

“I love you too,” he admits, reluctant but sentimental. This could be his last Skywalker party, after all, if he really does move away from Jakku after graduation.

“Hey, there's Kylo!” Poe exclaims, already distracted. Hux steps away just in time to see Kylo staring at them from the doorway, looking utterly crestfallen. Pointing his gaze down, he strides away and disappears into the crowd before Hux can do or say anything. It's a little confusing, seeing as Hux doesn't understand what he's done to make him so upset.

“I think… I think I'm going to tell Finn I want him to make out with me,” Poe says, and Hux encourages him with a thump on the back. He wanders off, leaving Hux to search high and low for Kylo and apologise for… something. Whatever- he's slowly getting more drunk and he _really_ wants to do that kiss again.

But Hux's drunken horniness is never satisfied, because Kylo is nowhere to be found for the entire night.

 

* * *

 

It's a well known fact of life at New Republic High that the day after the Skywalker's birthday party, half of the students are severely hung over. Hux spends most of the day glaring in jealousy at people who live in nearby catchments rather than Jakku itself, and subsequently weren't invited. _They_ don't look like they have splitting headaches.

“Cheer up, you guys!” Finn prompts at lunch, smiling at them in an effort to force their heads up from the table. Finn is free from their pain because he doesn't drink, and Poe's loving expression as he stares at his new boyfriend seems to have some kind of numbing effect, since he drank more than _all_ of them.

“I've been wondering why everyone looks so shitty today since I was a _Freshman_ ,” Jessika says, who's now taken to sitting in the cafeteria with them. “I'm not sure this was the kind of insight I was looking for.”

“Believe me, you'd have been best staying _far_ away from the Skywalkers,” Hux remarks, provoking a weak laugh from Phasma. “Speaking of, Rey? Have you talked to Kylo since last night?”

“No, he's refusing to leave his room at the moment. Which isn't that different from usual, but he doesn't usually play the Titanic theme on repeat at five in the morning and hoard all the chocolate ice cream.” When Hux chokes in surprise, trying to smother his reaction with his hand, she turns suspicious. “Why?”

“Certain events may or may not have transpired last night.”

“Oh, fuck off with your indistinct bullshit. I'll find out eventually. If you really want to know how he's feeling you should probably check his Twitter. He usually subtweets you on there.”

“He _what?_ About _me?”_

“Holy shit,” Finn says, scrolling on his phone. “Look.” He passes it to Hux, who does his best not to gasp.

_That feel when someone kisses you and then goes and flirts with someone else #WhyIDon'tTrustGingers_

“Fucking _hell_ ,” he says, scrolling further.

_When someone flirts with you for months and then completely changes their mind #WhyIDon'tTrustGingers_

_Why is it that people insist on leading you on when they don't even like you?_ _#WhyIDon'tTrustGingers_

There's a good fifteen or so tweets using that hashtag, and Hux feels absolutely _mortified_. The only thing that makes it better is when he sees that Kylo's follower count isn't very high- he'd probably die if #WhyIDon'tTrustGingers started trending.

“Rey,” he whines. “I think your cousin is vagueing about me.”

“No shit. He always does.” 

“He does? _Why?”_

She raises an eyebrow. “Don't tell me you haven't noticed. Especially recently.”

“I haven't got a clue what you're talking about,” he replies, and okay, it's not a _complete_ lie. There _has_ been some stuff going on between him and Kylo lately, but noticed _what?_

“Bloody _hell_ , Hux,” she snaps. “He _fancies_ you.”

He blinks at her, frozen in shock. “No, he really doesn't.” Rey opens her mouth to speak, but he interrupts before she can say anything. “He _doesn't_. Phasma told me.”

“That is _not_ what I said!” Phasma exclaims, her head shooting up from the table. She looks bleary eyed, dishevelled and angry, which is a more frightening image than Hux originally would've imagined. Then again, he probably should've- Phasma can be intimidating no matter what state she's in. He remembers this well. He'll never forget the swimming incident from third grade.

“You told me he was in love with someone," he protests, desperately trying not to evoke her wrath. 

“ _Exactly_.”

“But- not _me!_ You said he'd loved them since he was _thirteen!”_ Hux is getting seriously frustrated now.

“Hux,” Rey interjects. “Remind me, how old were we when we met?”

“Eleven.” Where is she going with this? He hardly remembers Kylo from back then at _all_ , back when he'd called himself Ben. He hadn't been particularly extraordinary or memorable, just an average kid. Hux doesn't understand how _his_ age is related.

“And that would've made Kylo how old?”

“Thirt- oh.” He feels his heart stutter and his stomach lurch. “ _Oh_.”

“Yeah.”

“But he never _told_ me,” he complains.

“Can you blame him? What good would that have done? You barely gave him the time of day, excluding these last few weeks.” She huffs, shaking her head in annoyance. “Believe me, I'm the last person who'd usually defend him, but it wouldn't have made a difference if he told you or not- I've always agreed with him on that. Plus, I think it felt a bit wrong for him with the age difference.”

“But there's only two years between us. It's not _that_ much.”

“It used to be. When you were out playing football with your friends and reading comic books he was the creepy ninth grader writing songs about your eyes. It was kind of weird. He knew that,” Rey explains. Hux has only just noticed that _none of his friends seem surprised by any of this_. Great. “I'm pretty sure he was planning to ask you out when you turned sixteen, but then a few weeks before your birthday you started dating Mitaka, so.”

“So he never told me.” He can barely process the information. “Shit.”

The idea of it is almost _surreal_ , so much so that Hux is isn't inclined to believe her in the slightest. But she has no reason to lie to him, and it does offer an explanation for the way Kylo acts around him. But _still_ , it's a bit of a shock. How had he not _realised?_ He experiences a surge of sympathy for Kylo, a part of him hoping to God it isn't true.

But of course it probably is, because Hux's life is a soap opera.

That's mostly due to the involvement of the Skywalkers.

 

* * *

 

“Just go on up,” Han says before Hux even gets a chance to explain why he's at the Skywalkers door when he should be in physics class. “Don't bother knocking. He won't answer.”

“Uh, _hi_ , Mr Solo?” He prompts.

“Look, kid,” Han begins, sighing when Hux keeps staring at him quizzically. “I don't need to hear about your relationship drama- Ben tells me enough to last a lifetime, anyway. Never shuts up about it, actually. I don't really care what happens between you two, but just make sure you don't hurt my son any further than you already have. I'd appreciate it.”

“Um, sure,” Hux mumbles, feeling a little lost at Han's onslaught of words. He rarely says more than two sentences to Hux that aren't a stupid joke or advice on how to steal things.

“Good. Now I’d also appreciate it if you two weren't very loud. I'll be in the basement, and if I can hear you from there I _won't_ be happy.”

By the time Hux actually gets to Kylo's room he has to wait a few minutes for the colour of his cheeks to die down.

“Uh, Kylo?” He says, not being able to resist knocking, in spite of what Han said. There's no answer. He decides to push open the door instead of waiting.

Inside, Kylo is sitting on his bed, duvet pulled around him like a shroud. The Titanic theme is playing on low volume.

“Get _out_ , Dad!”

“Kylo.”

“Oh,” he says dumbly, swallowing as he notices that it's Hux. “It's you. Shouldn't you be at school?”

“I was on Twitter earlier,” he replies in explanation. Kylo's face tightens. “And I talked to Rey.”

“Whatever she told you, it was a lie. Trust me.” Kylo clenches his jaw, pulling the duvet tighter around himself. “You should probably go.”

“I'll go if you're honest with me. Please,” he says when Kylo sighs in frustration, “tell me. Do you… care about me? At all?”

“No. You're attractive. That's it.”

It stings. He doesn't know if it's Kylo or Rey that's lying to him, but it hurts either way. He won't be mad at Rey, as it's perfectly plausible that she just made a few mistakes. But Kylo doesn't have to phrase it like _that-_ it's cruel. He sighs, bitterly accepting the truth, and turns to leave.

“Wait!” Hux spins around. “I'm sorry,” Kylo mutters. “I didn't mean that.”

“Then what _did_ you mean?”

“You're more than that.”

Hux feels his resentfulness evaporate, filling him with something warm instead. He smiles softly as he approaches the bed, hesitantly settling on the side of it, next to Kylo, who still has his duvet draped around him in that ridiculous manner. “Then what's wrong? Why have you gotten this misguided notion into your head about me flirting with someone else?”

“Because you _were!_ With Poe!”

“ _Poe?”_ Hux tries not to laugh at the idea, but he can't quite help it. It causes Kylo to get even _more_ annoyed, convinced that Hux is laughing at _him_. “Poe's just my friend, I don't think of him like _that_. That also goes with the fact that he started dating _Finn_ last night.”

“...What?”

“Poe and Finn are together now. It happened last night. I was _encouraging_ Poe.”

“You were?”

“ _Yes_. You thought I'd kiss you and then go and make a move on someone else? Do you actually think that lowly of me?”

“No, _f_ _uck_ ,” Kylo hisses, sinking further back into the duvet and dropping his head into his hands. “I'm sorry,” he says, muffled. “I've messed everything up.”

“I didn't say that.” Hux winds his hands around Kylo's wrists, gently prying them away from his face. Kylo glances up at him, guilty and uncomfortable.

“I shouldn't have assumed. I was just _worried_. I'm sorry,” he repeats, “I'm so sorr-”

Hux kisses him. It's sweet and chaste, just something to shut him up, right up until it isn't anymore. The building tension over the last few weeks inevitably comes to a head, and before he knows it, Hux is climbing onto his lap, pushing the duvet off his shoulders so he can knot his hands into the fabric of Kylo's pyjama top. Their teeth clack together with the force of it, almost making Hux's jaw ache, but at the same time, the press of their lips against each other is more than enough to make up for it.

“Your dad said he'd appreciate it if we weren't too loud,” he whispers when they break apart, and Kylo snorts, eyes fixed on his lips.

“Why am I not surprised?”

Hux grins and moves to push their mouths together again, but Kylo jerks his head back all of a sudden, tensing up. “No,” he breathes. “I know where this is going.” He tilts his head up and looks Hux straight in the eye, unwavering. “Let me take you on a date first?”

“Why?” Hux asks, wrinkling his nose in irritation. He's more than ready to go further; half-hard in his pants and waiting for Kylo to touch him.

“I've loved you for a long time,” Kylo says. “I want to do this properly.”

The words hit him straight in the chest, and a tiny, pitying smile worms it's way onto his face. “Alright. I'd be up for that.”

“Great.” Hux's throat feels tight at the view of Kylo's grin, ecstatic and uncontrollable. “I, uh, don't mean to be rude, but I was awake all last night and now I'm… not entirely sure if this is real. I'm kinda sleep deprived.”

“Right, of course.”

He's just glad that nobody else is there to see him attempt to maneuver himself off Kylo's lap.

 

* * *

 

“So, I have a scrapbook,” Rey says, dragging it out from under her bed. It's old and large, dusty after years of abandonment. “I made it for when you and Kylo get married.”

He slides it over, flipping through endless pages of wedding planning. “What the _fuck?_ When did you make _this?_ _”_

“About two weeks after Kylo started tripping over every time you looked at him.” She gasps in offence at Hux's facial expression when he reaches the page about the colour scheme. “Hey, I was _eleven_ , and it was before Ben started wearing all black and listening to rock music, so I actually _liked_ him back then. Don't judge.”

“Two weeks seems a bit premature.”

“What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. And you can't exactly tell me I was wrong about you two- I knew putting that mistletoe there was a good idea.”

"That was _you?"_

"Something needed to be done," she explains with a shrug, as if it's that simple. Hux sighs.

He's grateful Kylo is still sound asleep in his room- if he finds out about this, Hux seriously worries for Kylo and Rey's relationship, if they even have one that's still salvageable. Thankfully, it hasn't been long since Kylo passed out and Rey traipsed in with the others, gushing when she saw his kiss swollen lips, and excitedly leading him to her room. He'll probably be out cold for at least another few hours.

“Am I wearing a _crown?”_

“I thought you'd like it?” She defends, sheepish.

The Skywalkers are so _weird_. But it looks like he'll be stuck with them for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> Does it make sense for Rey to have an english accent when her whole family is american? no  
> Did I imagine her with one anyway? yes
> 
> i occasionally post some star wars on my [tumblr](http://savethealiens.tumblr.com) so if you want to hang out i'm there


End file.
